Essential Ottawa Blogs: Over 40 must-read local blogs

These are great Ottawa-based blogs that you MUST ADD to your reading list. There’s no set criteria for this list, only that they’re written by people in Ottawa who are passionate and usually a bit obsessive (in a good way) about the topics they write about.

We last published our list of essential Ottawa blogs way back in 2011. Since then, some of the blogs have faded away, new blogs have sprung up, and this list has grown from 26 to 42. I'm sure there are more great blogs out there that we should know about. Please add your favourites in the comments below.

Here’s the list, in alphabetical order.

1.
**
[
613Style
](http://www.613style.com/)
**
When we asked our readers to tell us about their favourite blogs, this one came up quite often. Carleton student Grace Odumo runs this up-and-coming web site.
2.
**
[
Apartment613
](http://www.apt613.ca/)
**
An eclectic batch of local writers covering local culture, arts, food and more.
3.
**
[
The Big Beat
](http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/tag/big-beat/)
**
Written by Peter Simpson, editor-at-large for The Ottawa Citizen. He covers pretty much everything in arts and entertainment, with a particular focus on visual arts and music.
4.
**
[
Black Aces
](http://www.blackacesottawa.com/)
**
This blog by Jeremy Milks is my favourite local hockey blog. It’s funny, well-written, offers a different take from most mainstream writers. As he so eloquently put it in a recent post, “a place of sober second thought, a calm oasis amongst the raging inferno of opinion out there on the Ottawa Senators”. Other good local hockey blogs include
[
The 6th Sens
](http://www.the6thsens.com/)
and
[
Silver Seven Sens
](http://www.silversevensens.com/)
.
5.
**
[
The Brown Knowser
](http://rossbrownfoot.blogspot.ca/)
**
Ross Brown takes great photographs, organizes meet-ups and drinks great beer. And he tells all about it in his blog.
6.
**
[
Cottage Country Reflection
](http://mymuskoka.blogspot.ca/)
**
Jennifer Jilks provides a strong voice and a different perspective from her home near Perth.
7.
**
[
Drives In Circles
](http://drivesincircles.blogspot.ca/)
**
Written anonymously by an OC Transpo bus driver. Great perspective on what it’s like to drive a bus.
8.
**
[
Eventful Capital
](http://eventfulcapital.wordpress.com/)
**
Written by Eliane Laberge, who seems to know everything about Ottawa’s nightlife scene. Her blog is a great collection of event updates and show reviews.
9.
**
[
foodiePrints
](http://foodieprints.com/)
**
There are so many
[
great food blogs
](http://ottawastart.com/food.php)
in Ottawa. I really like Don, Jenn and Claire’s blog because they are so excited about finding great food in Ottawa, at restaurants, grocery stores, markets, food trucks, or wherever else they happen to be.
10.
**
[
Greater Ottawa
](http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/greaterottawa/default.aspx)
**
Written by the Ottawa Citizen's David Reevely, this is a must-read for anyone who’s interested in what’s going on at City Hall.
11.
**
[
Green Living Ottawa
](http://greenlivingottawa.com/)
**
Denise Deby writes this comprehensive blog about environmental issues in Ottawa.
12.
**
[
Hello Ottawa
](http://helloottawa.ca/)
**
What a great idea for a blog: interview regular people about their life in Ottawa. Written by Anne Patterson.
13.
**
[
Kids in the Capital
](http://www.kidsinthecapital.ca/)
**
A great place to find ideas for things to do with your kids in our city. Written by a team of local moms who know their stuff.
14.
**
[
Knitnut.net
](http://knitnut.net/)
**
Written by Zoom! who lets you "watch her life unravel". Compelling and usually darn funny too.
15.
**
[
Lunch Out Loud Ottawa
](http://mortgageinottawa.com/lolottawa/)
**
This is a podcast, which is kind of like an audio blog. Every week hosts Nick Bachusky and Andrew Miller interview somebody interesting from Ottawa.
16.
**
[
The Margins of History
](http://www.historynerd.ca/)
**
Christopher Ryan loves local history and takes very interesting photos of Ottawa buildings and landmarks. His specialty is researching the backgrounds of some lesser-known architectural gems.
17.
**
[
Mid-Century Modern Ottawa
](http://modernrealtor.blogspot.ca/)
**
A collection of photos, drawings and information about mid-century housing design in Ottawa. Written by Saul Svirplys, an architectural historian and PhD student at the University of Ottawa. Focus will soon be changing to 1970s suburban architecture and community design, he says.
18.
**
[
National Capital Rock
](http://www.natcaprock.blogspot.com/)
**
Andrew Carver posts lots and lots of photos of Ottawa’s alternative/indie rock scene.
19.
**
[
The O-Dot
](http://the-o-dot.blogspot.com/)
**
Ottawa satire in the style of The Onion. I know Tommy Talker's true identity but have been sworn to secrecy.
20.
**
[
Omnivore's Ottawa
](http://communities.canada.com/ottawacitizen/blogs/omnivore/default.aspx)
**
This blog by retired Ottawa Citizen food writer Ron Eade may make you very, very hungry. (One of dozens and dozens of
[
very good local food blogs
](http://ottawastart.com/food.php)
in this city.)
21.
**
[
Ottawa Beer Events
](http://www.ottawabeerevents.ca/)
**
The growth of this blog has mirrored the growth of Ottawa’s indie beer industry and is full of news, events and reviews of great beer in our city. Founded by Katy Watts with help from Sasha Dunfield.
22.
**
[
Ottawa Dog Blog
](http://ottawadogblog.ca/)
**
Liz Bradley and Jane Kerrison have a great mission statement for their blog: “We believe in having an awesome online community for Ottawa dog lovers to learn, support, and be crazy dog people.”
23.
**
[
Ottawa Girl
](http://theottawagirl.blogspot.ca/)
**
I love Lydia Bociurkiw’s photography because it is so vibrant and colourful. So much photography online these days is dull and desaturated (blame Instagram?). Lydia’s view of downtown Ottawa is a fresh contrast to that trend.
24.
**
[
Ottawa Past & Present
](http://www.pastottawa.com/)
**
You can really get a sense of how Ottawa has changed over the decades with this blog by Alex Laquerre. His posts feature an interactive “slider” that allows you to compare scenes from the past with what they look like today.
25.
**
[
Ottawa Showbox
](http://blog.ottawashowbox.com/)
**
Dedicate to showcasing Ottawa’s indie music scene. Launched in 2012 by Matías Muñoza, and written by Matías and Eric Scharf. “The arts in Ottawa speaks for itself, we just write about it.”
26.
**
[
OttawaStart Blog
](http://ottawastart.com/)
**
Yep, this is our blog. Hope you like it. Written by me,
[
Glen Gower
](http://about.me/glengower)
with help from some great guest bloggers.
27.
**
[
Ottawa Tonite
](http://www.ottawatonite.com/)
**
Covering Ottawa’s arts and entertainment team. Produced by Cheryl Gain along with a cadre of contributors who are active in our city’s cultural life.
28.
**
[
a peek inside the fishbowl
](http://www.quietfish.com/notebook/)
**
Andrea Tomkins, editor of Capital Parent and Kitchissippi Times, gives us a glimpse into the life of her family in Westboro.
29.
**
[
PhotogMusic
](http://photogmusic.com/)
**
Ming Wu blends two loves together: photography and music. You can listen to his radio show on
[
CHUO
](http://ottawastart.com/radio.php)
on Mondays at 3pm.
30.
**
[
Pink Belt
](http://pinkbelt.tumblr.com/)
**
Probably the youngest blogger on this list. Sacha is an Ottawa teenager who does interviews, takes photos, and writes a zine, mostly about music.
31.
**
[
Postcards from the Mothership
](http://danigirl.ca/blog/)
**
Dani Donders writes about life with her family in Manotick. Writes a popular yearly post about Christmas parades, and takes a lot of great photos.
32.
**
[
Public Transit in Ottawa
](http://www.transitottawa.ca/)
**
Quite a comprehensive blog covering transit issues in Ottawa from a rider’s perspective. Peter Raaymakers is the executive director of the blog and Wes Chu is senior writer.
33.
**
[
Rose’s Cantina
](http://rosalita55.blogspot.ca/)
**
Rose Simpson offers her unique take on our city. Funny, smart, honest.
34.
**
[
Singing Moon
](http://singingmoon.blogspot.com/)
**
Photo blog by the mysterious Coyote, featuring unexpected shots of downtown.
35.
**
[
Spydergrrl
](http://www.spydergrrl.com/)
**
Tanya Snook covers local technology meet-ups and events, geek culture and more.
36.
**
[
Turtlehead
](http://diaryofaturtlehead.wordpress.com/)
**
Written by Lynn, who's also involved in the annual
[
Blog Out Loud Ottawa
](http://www.blogoutloud.org/)
(BOLO) event. Lots of great ideas for family activities in Ottawa.
37.
**
[
Twenty York Street
](https://www.twentyyork.com/)
**
Written by Marilou Moles, this blog bills itself as "Ottawa's ultimate go to fashion blog."
38.
**
[
URBSite
](http://urbsite.blogspot.com/)
**
In each post, Robert Smythe does an in-depth historical and pictorial study of a very specific feature of Ottawa's urban landscape.
39.
**
[
Weighty Matters
](http://bmimedical.blogspot.com/)
**
A blog about health and nutrition by Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, a family medical doctor and the founder of Ottawa's Bariatric Medical Institute.
40.
**
[
West Side Action
](http://westsideaction.wordpress.com/)
**
Eric Darwin, a resident of the Preston/Somerset area, writes about development issues affecting his area just west of downtown.
41.
**
[
Vanier Now
](http://vaniernow.blogspot.ca/)
**
This blog combines the old and new, highlighting the transformation of Vanier while looking at the colourful past of one of Ottawa’s most diverse neighbourhoods. Written by a collective of seven residents including co-founders Mike Bulthuis and Mike Steinhauer.
42.
**
[
Visitorium
](http://thevisitorium.com/)
**
If you want to know about local theatre, Kevin Reid’s blog is the place to find out. I don’t know how he manages to attend so many shows.
**
Even more great Ottawa blogs
**
*
[
Agritourism Ottawa
](http://agritourismguide.ca/)
*
[
Canadian Personal Finance Blog
](http://www.canajunfinances.com/)
*
[
cheap eats ottawa
](http://www.ceotblog.com/)
*
[
David Scrimshaw’s Blog
](http://davidscrimshaw.blogspot.ca/)
*
[
Dwayne Brown Studio
](http://blog.dwaynebrown.com/)
*
[
Elgin Street Irregulars
](http://elginstreet.blogspot.ca/)
*
[
The Ethical Adman
](http://workthatmatters.blogspot.ca/)
*
[
Girl About O-Town
](http://www.girlaboutotown.com/)
*
[
Images of Centretown
](http://centretown.blogspot.ca/)
*
[
Justin Van Leeuwen Photography
](http://jvlphoto.com/latest/)
*
[
Mark Blevis - Digital and Public Affairs
](http://markblevis.com/)
*
[
Michael Geist
](http://www.michaelgeist.ca/)
*
[
Miss Vicky’s Offhand Remarks
](http://www.offhand.ca/)
*
[
Only Connect
](http://ottawapubliclibrarian.blogspot.ca/)
*
[
Ottawa365
](http://ottawaphotography365.com/)
*
[
Ottawa Magazine
](http://www.ottawamagazine.com/)
*
[
Ottawa Rickshaws Blog
](http://ottawarickshaws.ca/blog/)
*
[
Ottawa Velo Vogue
](http://ottawavelovogue.com/)
*
[
The Outdoors Guide
](http://blogs.canoe.ca/outdoorsguy/)
*
[
PhD in Parenting
](http://www.phdinparenting.com/)
*
[
Pub Patio Playdate
](http://pubpatioplaydate.com/)
*
[
Random Musings from Gordon
](https://www.google.ca/search?q=gordon+dewis&oq=gordon+dewis&aqs=chrome..69i57.2268j0j4&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8)
*
[
Spacing Ottawa
](http://spacing.ca/ottawa/)
*
[
Sun & The City
](http://blogs.canoe.ca/cityhall/)
*
[
SuzeMuse
](http://www.suzemuse.com/)
*
[
Turtlehead
](http://diaryofaturtlehead.wordpress.com/)
*
[
Unfolding
](http://www.unfolding.ca/index.php/category/blog)
*
[
Correr es mi Destino
](http://correresmidestino.com/)